Fitness is subjective and varies from person to person. In essence, fitness is the state of the body that does not hinder in your day to day work and helps you remain healthy for an extended period.
Athletes who do Ironman and 70.3 events have to train for more than 15 hours per week, i.e. a minimum of two hours of intense workout per day. If you put aside a couple of rest days which are essential for them per week, it moves up to three hours of proper back-breaking workout per day.
For triathlon athletes, that much workout is essential. If they do not do that, they won't be able to strike gold in triathlons, but the definition of fitness is subjective and different for different people.
Plus, your fitness levels are constantly changing. For example, say you have not worked out for around two years, for whatever reasons and it is beginning to show in your body.
Fat is beginning to get accumulated in all the wrong areas, and you are nowhere close to your best shape. Then, one day, a switch flicks, and you head out for a jog in the morning. Assuming that you are very concentrated and focused and continue your regimen for 6 months straight, you lose 8 kg of weight, your stamina doubles and you return to favourable shape.
Then, the rainy season sets in, and again, there is a gap of two months in your fitness regime.
At what point were you the fittest over this period? When you hadn't done any exercise for 2 years, when you were 3 months into your jogging regimen, when you were 6 months into your jogging regimen or after a gap of 2 months?
Obviously, you are the fittest after 6 months of jogging, but that is very difficult to sustain over extended periods. Hence, your fitness level is constantly changing.
Then, the fitness levels are different for men and women. If you can do 20 pushups at the age of 25 within a minute, you are in a brilliant fitness zone as a woman; however, as a man, the count is good but not excellent. Likewise, 44 sit-ups in a minute are very good for men while 39 is the number to aim at for women.
Hence, perfect fitness is elusive. All you can do is to constantly put in the work and aim for good levels of fitness. Perfection is nothing short of a myth.
